Exercise is much more than just burning calories. The calories burned during exercise, unless you’re a professional athlete, make up a very small portion of our total calories burned for the day; what we eat has a much greater influence on our body weight. So why should we bother to exercise? Because burning a few calories is just one of the many benefits of exercise:

When you exercise, your heart muscle is getting a workout too. Over time, the heart becomes more efficient, allowing the resting heart rate to decrease — beneficial, since a high resting heart rate is a risk factor for cardiac mortality.2,3

Regular exercise helps to increase production of nitric oxide, a key regulator of blood pressure. In addition to reduced blood pressure, this results in improved blood flow to skeletal muscle and the heart.4,5

The brain:

Exercise is a natural mood elevator, shown to be just as effective as (and of course much safer than) anti-depressant drugs.6,7,8-10

Physical activity has been consistently linked to cognitive abilities and mental alertness.6 In older adults, regular walking was shown to decrease the risk of cognitive impairment,11 and strength training also produces cognitive benefits.12